Tim Soutphommasane says discussions over influence could lead to ‘suspicion of Chinese-Australians’

Australia’s race discrimination commissioner says we are “flirting with danger” in the debate over Chinese influence in our democracy, warning that antagonism towards state-sponsored interference could spill over “into a general suspicion of Chinese-Australians”.

In an intensification of a public warning delivered earlier this year, Tim Soutphommasane will use the opportunity of a community forum on Tuesday to spell out his concerns with the Chinese influence debate, and he will also blast the recent “panic” from politicians over African youth crime in Melbourne.